Special Invitation for all Parents: I am pleased to invite all Parents and Friends to a special Thank You Afternoon Tea on Friday 29 November 2.15pm. At this Thank You Afternoon Tea, there will be more than a slice of cake and coffee; I am excited to announce that there will be live entertainment provided by the students in our Junior Choir and Senior Choir. We hope to see you 29/11/18 @ 2.15pm in the COLA. From all the staff and students at OLD.

Parent Information Session: The MAI assessment: Monday 2nd December; 6-7pm, I will be holding an information session to explain the MAI assessment. The MAI (Mathematical Assessment Instrument) is a one-on-one assessment that ALL children will participate in on the first day of the 2020 school year (as they have done so for the past 7 years). During this session I will be explain the purpose of this assessment; what kind of data it provides teachers and the school; what the assessment is teaching us about your children; how teachers use the data and I will be showing some examples of the questions. This is a very important assessment as it does not inform us of how fast your child can recite Mathematical facts, such as their times tables, but what strategies they use to problem solve. Please email the school if you will be attending this information session.

COMING EVENTS

NOVEMBER

Mon 25 P & F AGM 6.30pm

Fri 29 Year 6 Graduation Liturgy

10am

Fri 29 “Thank you afternoon

Tea” for all parent and friend

‘helpers’ 2.30pm

DECEMBER

Wed 4 Swimming Carnival

Sun 8 Year 6 Mass

Fri 13 Community Christmas

Carols

Tues 17 Stage 3 Beach Safety

Day

Wed 18 Last Day Term 4

KEEP CHECKING THE SCHOOL’S WEBSITE

UNDER ‘CALENDAR - FOR POSSIBLE

CHANGES TO DATES

www.olddbb.catholic.edu.au

Our Lady of Dolours

OUR LADY OF DOLOURS CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER Term 4 Week 6 - 18 November 2019

ACTING PRINCIPAL—Miss Kirsty Thorpe

Public Speaking finals What an absolutely amazing start to the week we had this week with our Public Speaking finals for Kindergarten - Year 5. The skills displayed by all our finalists was exceptional - every student spoke with confidence, enthusiasm and great poise. The speeches were well-written, well-prepared and extremely interesting and entertaining. Congratulations to all finalists and the winners and runners-up for each grade:

Kindergarten: Year 1:

- Jihu Park (Winner) - Isabella Rojas-Alali (Winner)

- Chloe Kim (Runner-up) - Austin Xu (Runner-up)

- Olivia Surjan - Grace Moores

- Santino Guerrera - Curtis Liu

- Micaela Geronimo - Olivia Yip

- Lylah Element - Zach Salim

Year 2: Year 3:

- Anastasia Ho (Winner) - Shenali Fernando (Winner)

- Jack Treder (Runner-up) - Ryan Kuo (Runner-up)

- Luke Bacsi-Stephenson - Nate Linders

- Carolyn Simpkins - Elena Dunlevey

- Pippa Element - Jonathan Tan

- Nicholas Keung - Anya Francis

Year 4 Year 5:

- Farid Chammaa (Winner) - Genevieve Ho (Winner)

- Ryan Chung (Runner-up) - Amitel McJarrow (Runner-up)

- Airley Element - Chloe Chow

- Alexander Parissis - Audrey Fowler

- Cordelia Mensforth - Chloe Lee

- Troy Ghazarian - Iara Basto-Silva

ACTING PRINCIPAL—Miss Kirsty Thorpe

Friday 13th December: Christmas celebrations and fundraising for the drought: Our Year 6 Creative Arts and Mercy Leaders have created an initiative that on Friday 13th December all students will be able to wear a ‘touch’ of Christmas with their sports uniforms (Remember this is the day of our P&F Christmas evening celebrations). Everyone is also asked to donate a gold coin that will be donated to St Joseph’s Primary School in Wee Waa. Please see below for some information about the cause we are supporting and Christmas ideas from our Year 6 leaders.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES IN DROUGHT (Friday 13th December - Gold coin donation day)

This year we will be collecting a gold coin donation to support St Joseph's Primary School in Wee Waa, a small town between Narrabri and Walgett in north west New South Wales. Wee Waa has had suffered drought for over six years. Unfortunately, due to lack of water and failing farms, many of the school families are no longer able to afford to buy fresh food for their children. The Principal Mr Alistair Stewart is trying to support his school community by providing the children food through the school tuck shop. Any food not used is made into food parcels and frozen and distributed discreetly to needy families in and around the town. If you can help, please make a gold coin or 'fiver for a farmer' donation on our ‘Christmas Gold coin day’ (13th December) to help St Joseph's buy more food and prepare food parcels. The food is being purchased from local shops which will also help the town.

ACTING PRINCIPAL—Miss Kirsty Thorpe

Year 6 Parish Mass We excited to announce that Bishop Randazzo will be celebrating our Year 6 Family Mass on Sunday the 24th of November at 9am. This mass is dedicated to all Year 6 students in our parish community, however the Mass is always open for ALL families. We are particularly excited to be blessed with Bishop Randazzo’s presence this coming Sunday! After the Mass the parish will be providing a free beach volleyball blow-up arena to play on. We look forward to seeing you there! Library books and Home Readers: Can everyone please check if they have any school library books or home readers in their bookshelves at home and return them to school ASAP. We have invested a lot of school funds into the beautiful books that your children read but if they go missing our resources will dwindle. When classes have their daily Guided Reading lessons the teachers use a set of 6 books to read with the students – if one of these books are missing, the set is no longer usable. We thank you in advance for helping us retain the wonderful resources we have for your students. Hats! As we are now in November it is so important that EVERY student at O.L.D. is wearing their hat every day. Not only is the hat an important part of the school uniform, but it is also extremely important for skin safety. Please ensure your child is wearing their hat in the morning when they come to school as well as when they are walking home in the afternoons. Community Dinners - Every Saturday evening at 6:30pm! A reminder that Our Lady of Dolours Catholic parish (run by volunteers) welcomes you ALL to come along to for a free community dinner in a relaxed family-friendly environment. Contact Bernadette.Ho@bbcatholic.org.au for further information.

Year 6 End of Year Class Mass Celebrated by Bishop Randazzo!

The Catholic community of Chatswood invites Year 6 children and their families to a special Mass for Year 6 at our

9am Family Mass Sunday 24 November 2019

Our Lady of Dolours Catholic Church 94 Archer Street, Chatswood

During this Mass each Year 6 student will be presented with a small gift as part of our end of year celebration to mark the end of their primary years.

After Mass we will have some fun, games and a sausage sizzle for the kids and morning tea for the parents in the primary school playground. Please bring a plate to share.

All welcome! If you plan on coming please RSVP Angela at Angela.Hague@bbcatholic.org.au which will help with catering

for gifts.

ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL—Miss Camilla Brown

Christmas Carols at our local Nursing Homes

For several years, the children and young families from our Parish have been visiting local nursing homes during Advent to sing Christmas Carols. This is a most rewarding experience which enlivens the Christmas spirit for our senior citizens and the families

who attend.

This year we will again be visiting local nursing homes for 4 Sundays from 24th November after 9am Mass and are looking for new families to join us. You don’t have to commit to

all 4 weeks, even coming to one session will help spread the Christmas Cheer.

To find out more join our:

Carols at Nursing Homes - Information and Practice Session

Date: 17th November 2019 Time: 10.30am

Location: St. Paul's Parish meeting room

Or contact: Katya at: kpolimenileung@gmail.com or Josef at: josef.widjaja@gmail.com

We would love to hear from you!

Donating Hampers to our Aussie Farmers!

Currently many families in in the rural areas of Australia are suffering the devastation of drought and bushfires. A generous

family in the Northern Beaches are organising hampers to support these families in their time of need. We invite you to donate

any of the items listed below and deliver to your classroom teacher to collect. Mrs Jane Bertinshaw will be delivering these

Hampers in Week 7.

- Olive Oil

- Sunscreen 50 SPF+

- Aerogard Tropical Strength

- Moisturizer

- Hand Sanitizer

- Non- perishable food (vegemite, jam, canned veggies etc.)

Last day for donations is Thursday 21 November.

ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL—Miss Camilla Brown

Message from the 2019 P&F executive committee

Dear O.L.D. Parents,

Since the introduction of the P&F Levy to O.L.D. at the beginning of 2019 the role of the P&F has changed quite significantly and continues to evolve.

With immediate effect, the P&F Meeting will be replaced with a Town Hall which will be an open forum for the Principal to provide parents with a quarterly update and also an opportunity for all parents to ask questions or raise topics for discussion. Discussion will also take place during the Town Hall on what the annual P&F Levy will be spent on. The first Town Hall meeting will take place on Monday, 25 November 2019, 6.30pm in the school library (this will replace the AGM). We encourage as many parents and friends to attend the Town Hall as possible. These are run to ensure an open dialogue between the school and community. The meeting will also be streamed live on Facebook. A week before each Town Hall a reminder will be sent out asking for action points, the email address for responses will change but for this first meeting, if you have any points you would like raised at this first Town Hall please email them through to catherine@peopleintelligence.com.au by no later than Wednesday, 20 November 2019.

The P&F Committee will be replaced by an Events Committee made up with a Representative from each year group, K-6. Events run during 2020 are not fundraisers but organised so as to continue to build the community spirit within O.L.D. Events can comprise of old favourites or new ideas and this will be down to the members of the Committee to decide.

To form an Events Committee we are looking for nominations of a parent or guardian you would like to have represent your Year Group for 2020....please note this role can be shared between two people and you are welcome to nominate yourself!!

So, what does this role involve:

• Attending a single Events Committee Meeting per term to discuss the events taking place that term

• Liaising with Class Parents and the year as a whole to co-ordinate the allocated Year Group's event

A nominated member of the Events Committee will also attend the quarterly Parent Advisory Meeting to ensure clear communication between both groups

We are looking for nominations for a Representative for each year group to be submitted no later than Wednesday, 20 November 2019. Please forward your nomination(s) to catherine@peopleintelligence.com.au

Please note if you are nominated to be your year's representative then it is entirely up to you if you chose to take the position.

On behalf of the 2019 P&F Executive Team, I would like to extend our thanks for the support you have shown us during the year and we look forward to seeing you all at the final event of 2019, the Christmas Palooza which will take place on Friday, 13 December 2019. This event will start with ALL children performing carols followed by Christmas festivities!

From the P & F

Congratulations Yvaine (Yr 1), her flag design was one of the 40 selected—out of 600+ entries—to be displayed at Chatswood train station. Keep an eye out for it when you are walking through Chatswood mall.

AWARDS

Market Day

Thank you for the wonderful community support of the ‘Stage 3’ Market Day last Friday. Market Day provides the students with a wonderful experience in Financial Literacy and it was also a lot of fun!!!

We will update you with our profit or losses when we have worked it all out. Stay tuned!

Stage 3 Teachers

We are now into week 6 of Term 4. This year is sure flying by us. A couple of reminders as we near the end of the year.

Reward tokens - if your child is after a reward this year, Tuesday 3 December is the last date to ensure the rewards get to the school by the end of this school year. Also, as the school banking team, we have to use what the CBA system tells us for the balance of reward tokens students have. For parents with iPhones, the CBA has a ‘Youth App’, that allows you to keep track of your child’s account (deposits, tokens).

Last day for 2019 - the last day for school banking in 2019 will be Tuesday 17 December. A big thanks to all the families who participate in this program.

Volunteers - special thanks to the volunteers who keep the banking program running here at OLD (Laura, Glenda, Debby, Alison & Julie). I’d especially like to thank Laura & Glenda for all their support of the program over the years.

We are seeking volunteers to help with the program in 2020. If you think you may be able to spare an hour a week a couple of weeks each term, please let me know (drphilip.munro@gmail.com)

Exciting news—the new parent portal is here!

Last week you should have received an email with information about our new Complass Parent Portal and App, including login details. The new system will enable you to access information online about your child/ren, anytime, anywhere, from any modern web-enabled device. Initially you will be able to— - view information on your child/ren’s attendance - enter explainations for absences - receive communications from us - update your contact details If you have not received the email, or have any questions, please let the school office know. Please note due to the new system the Kirk Street gate will now be closed when the morning bell rings at 8.45am, so all students arriving after this time will need to enter via the front office. Reminder: Family Registration Form

Please return “Application for Sibling Discount and Payment Arrangements - 2018” form to the office by Friday, 23rd November,

2018 so that correct fees for 2019 school year can be determined for your family and to help us budget for 2019; please fill out

the form even if you only have 1 child in school. We use the terms of payment information for the school budget.

These forms can be found at the rear of this newsletter.

Lunch Orders:

When you are ordering on QKR please ensure you tick the correct date for lunch order delivery and you proceed all the way

through to the receipt received screen.

Leaving Students—end 2019 If your family is moving from OLD school at the end of 2019 (except Yr 6 families), please be sure to alert OLD via the form attached in this newsletter.

STAGE 3

FROM THE OFFICE

SCHOOL BANKING

FROM THE OFFICE

COMMUNITY NEWS

COMMUNITY NEWS

SCHEDULE OF FEES 2020

ALL families are invited to this FREE event which is being hosted by the O.L.D. P&F. The event will start with the children performing carols (which they are already practicing for) followed by movies, food and Christmas activities! We look forward to seeing you all there!

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY NEWS

COMMUNITY NEWS

School Travel Stay up to date with Opal and

ticketing changes for school travel

2020 school travel applications now open

To assist with any enquiries you may receive regarding student travel applications, we have provided some information below.

Applications for student travel in 2020 opened on Friday, 11 October 2019.

Students progressing to year 3 and year 7 no longer need to re-apply if they:

• are continuing at the same school

• are residing at the same address

have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet

the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising

them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/

updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2019 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current enti-

tlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2019, the system will automatically cancel an

entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their

nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2020.

COMMUNITY NEWS